Good morning America! Day two of the diet. Food adds on television are becoming more appealing. I may have the energy to take a long walk today. I think I'll go to the grocery and walk up and down the aisles. We are such wimps in this country when it comes to doing without food. I thought I would say a little bit about Texas today. Now, if I was a native Texan, I would say a lot about Texas. If you go south on the map to the very tip, you will see Brownsville. I live about 24 miles north. The King ranch, and all of its current divisions, runs north between McAllen and Brownsville to just south of Corpus Christi. I think it is about 850,000 acres. So when I tell you I am driving somewhere, I start with about two hours on the
King Ranch. I will try and give you some of the most commonly thought of images that come to mind when you hear the name of the State. I was born in Mississippi, but when I graduated from college in the late sixties, my wife and I moved to Texas. At the time, Mississippi was paying school teachers about $3,800 per year. Texas was paying $5,200 per year. You do the math. I went into law enforcement after one year in the classroom. The job requirements were similar, but I got to carry a firearm in my new career. The big beef above is a Texas Longhorn photographed on the King Ranch.
Out west in the Big Bend country, we have the Davis mountains. You have seen our part of the state in previous posts. We have lots of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico and east Texas is rolling hills and wooded.
The painting on the left depicts the Texas hill country in the spring. The center photo is Luckenbach, TX, and the photo to the right is a Texas hill country stream. The following information is borrowed and printed in abbreviated form. I do not know the author, but he is obviously from Texas.
Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second. That picture, with the Panhandle, the Gulf Coast, the Red River, and the Rio Grande, is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone, anywhere the world over looks at it, they know what it is - TEXAS!! Pick any kid off the street in Japan, and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt, and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it, maybe after a second or two, but, even if you do, does it stir those feelings in you? In every man, woman, and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he/she could be a real live Texan, and get up on a horse, or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone. Did you ever hear anyone in a bar say, 'Wow...so you're from Iowa? Cool, tell me about it?' Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast, the towering shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas, Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico. Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops seen under amazing sunsets of gold.
Because Texas is the only state in the United States that was a Republic BEFORE it became a state, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can; 
1.) Fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag; 2.) Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the U. S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.; 3.) We can divide our state into up to five smaller states at any time and, 4.) We have the option to secede from the United States, and again become The Independent Republic of Texas. To drive across Texas, is to drive 1/4 way across the United States. Everything is bigger in Texas! Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, agriculture, and modern cities. The Texas Economy is the 5th largest in the World.
Many people from all over the country have found Texas. Our population is probably one of the most diverse in all the world. I hope you come for a visit one day soon.
This is one of those views which are so absolutely absurd that only very learned men could possibly adopt them. - Bertrand Russell
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I was reminded recently on my motorcycle trip through the Texas Hill Country how beautiful the outdoors can be during the months of Spring. Recent periods of very dry weather have lessened the colorful splendor a little, but memories of those Springs when every trip through the countryside was like driving in a painting reminded me of a poem I wrote to describe the feeling. I hope you enjoy it as you start your week.
